Charmed: The Power of Four!
by Billyboy
Summary: Please Read and Review. Thanks!
1. Default Chapter

            It was a route that they hadn't taken before. As soon as Wyatt was old enough, Piper put him in his stroller and they would go on walks. Today she had felt drawn here, to the mausoleum, to the spot where her eldest sister, Prudence Halliwell was "buried". 

            Two and a half years! It had been that long since Prue died. In many ways Piper still felt guilty. That day Leo could have saved either of them, but he didn't. He chose to save her, because she was his wife.

            The guilt of that day never really went away. It was like a slow acid, burning in the back of her mind. Sure, she'd figured out a way to work around it, but it was never completely gone. 

            "Wyatt, this is your Aunt Prue. Prue, this is your nephew Wyatt." She said, feeling a little silly, but glad to have done it.

            "You miss her, don't you?" A strange voice from behind her said. 

            Instinctively she raised her arms to either blow up or freeze. What she saw in front of her was a man of about thirty five, with dark hair and eyes. Altogether not an unattractive package, Phoebe or Paige would have been all over him in a heartbeat.

            "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Tim, that's an adorable baby you have there." He said, looking down at Wyatt.

            "Thank you. I'm sorry, you just startled me. I'm Piper." She said, and shook his proffered hand.

            "I don't think I've seen you here before. I come quite a bit. I find it's a rather restful place. No pun intended." He smiled a friendly sort of smile.

            Something in Piper told her this was a trustworthy man. Something in his demeanor was somehow familiar though, like she'd met him before, but she couldn't place where.

            "Your sister I take it." He said, indicating the plaque. 

            "Yes, I haven't been here in ages. But I wanted my son to meet his aunt, even if only this way." She said, noticing the look on Wyatt's face that meant he was about to cry.

            She picked him up and set him on her hip. 

            "His father must be so proud to have such a sweet looking child." Tim said, letting Wyatt grab his finger.

            "I'm afraid his father is out of the picture, and has been for several months now." Piper said, a twinge of regret entering her voice.

            "I'm sorry to hear that. Must be tough raising this little guy by yourself?" Tim said a look of sympathy on his face.

            "Oh I'm not alone. I have two sisters, they help a lot. Sometimes I think to the detriment of their own lives." Piper said, wondering why this man seemed so interested.

            Suddenly she remembered that she had to be home to interview more magical nannies. Since Leo had taken over the leadership of the Elders, there was one positive effect. There was no limit of interested parties in watching after Wyatt, perhaps it was Leo's way of doing one more thing for them before he lost track of them.

            "I have to run; I'm interviewing nannies this afternoon. It was nice meeting you Tim. I hope we can meet up again sometime." She said, putting Wyatt back in the stroller.

            "I hope so too, I have a card if you'd like it." He said, rummaging in his jacket pocket.

            "Sure, not that I get much time these days, between taking care of this one and trying to run a club." She said, putting Wyatt's sunglasses on him.

            "You have a club?" He asked, and handed her the card, which she pocketed without looking at.

            "Yes, have you heard of P3?" She asked, starting to wheel the stroller away.

            "I think I have, some friends of mine may have mentioned it. Well if you find a good enough nanny and find some time, please don't hesitate to call." He said, following her as far as the steps.

            "I will, thank you Tim. Have a nice day." She said, walking quickly away.

            Tim silently watched her go, a smile on his face the entire time, and then he looked upward and shimmered away.


	2. A Better Destiny Part 2

            Piper took Wyatt out of the stroller on the porch and entered the manor.

            "I'm home." She said out loud, sensing it was time for a diaper change for her little man.

            "In here."  Paige's voice from the living room, said. 

            Piper entered the living room to find Paige sitting with a young blond woman.

            "We're back, and someone needs a change." She said, holding Wyatt out at arm's length.

            "I'll get it. Piper, this is Jenna, she's your first interview." Paige said, taking Wyatt from his mother and leaving the room.

            "Hi Piper, this showed up in my room today with a note saying to give it to you." The young woman said, handing Piper an envelope.

            On it, in Leo's handwriting was written 'open in private'. Her eyes misted up at seeing that.

            "I'll go see if Paige needs a hand while you read that?" Jenna said, and started to leave the room.

            "Top of the stairs is the nursery, she's probably in there." Piper said, turning back to the letter once she was gone.

            She flipped the ancient looking envelope over and opened the seal. As soon as she did, a golden glow wafted out of the envelope, drifted in front of her and formed into Leo.

            "Hello Piper. I'm glad to see that Jenna made it safely to you. I know you're looking for a nanny for Wyatt right now, and I'm highly recommending her. Not only is she a fairly powerful good witch, but I have it on great authority that she is going to be a white lighter once her time on Earth is done. She was in fact engaged to her whitelighter, a fellow named Alex, but he was killed with so many of the others when the Titans attacked. She just moved to San Francisco not long ago and is attending school part time to get a degree in education. She's great with kids, and I'm sure Wyatt will be very safe with her." He said, a smile on his face the entire time.

            The tears that had threatened when she saw his handwriting spilled from her eyes now. Seeing him was almost too much for her, she missed him so much.

            "I hope you and your sisters are doing well, and I wish I could be there to see Wyatt grow up, but I know I will meet him again one day when he comes into his full powers. In the meantime just remember I love you and that we will be reunited someday, I promise. Goodbye Piper." He said, and blowing her a kiss, faded from view.

            Piper heard a slight noise behind her and turned to see Phoebe standing in the doorway.

            "I thought I heard Leo's voice when I came in, so I came up as quietly as I could. I didn't mean to eavesdrop." She said, picking at a spot on the doorframe.

            "It's ok Pheebs. I guess I don't need to interview any more nannies. This one comes recommended from on high, so I might as well offer her the job." Piper said, between sobs.

            Phoebe crossed the distance them in a second, holding her older sister and comforting her. "Honey, I know how much you miss him, we all do, but he obviously has important work to do. We can't fault him for that." She said.

            "I'm not mad at him or anything, I just want him to be here to watch Wyatt grow up. This just isn't fair. Why did they have to pick him to be the head of the Elders? Surely there was somebody older they could have chosen." Piper said, into Phoebe's shoulder.

            "Remember, honey, age has nothing to do with it. Obviously they felt he was the best man for the job. Goodness knows he's faced enough stuff helping us all these years. I don't know about you, but I'm glad he's still watching out for us." Phoebe continued, grabbing a kleenex from a box on the end table, "Here, blow." She said, handing it to Piper.

            Piper had just finished drying her eyes and nose when Paige and Jenna came back into the room with Wyatt.

            "Well Jenna, it looks like you're hired. When can you.." Piper started, when a whirlwind formed in the middle of the room.

            From the whirlwind emerged a male demon, fireball in hand. Jenna grabbed Wyatt from Paige, waved her hand, and the two of them vanished. The demon threw the fireball, knocking Phoebe over the back of the couch. He had formed another fireball and was about to throw it at Piper.

            "Fireball!" Paige said, holding out her hand. The ball vanished from the demon's hand and appeared in Paiges. She threw it at him quickly, vanquishing him.

            "Jenna, it's ok." Piper called out, while heading over to Phoebe with Paige.

            A couple seconds later Jenna and Wyatt reappeared where they'd been standing.

            "Coast is clear I take it?" She said, putting Wyatt into his nearby swing.

            "Yes, good work. Now I know hiring you is not a bad idea." Piper said, helping Paige to lift Phoebe and put her onto the couch. 

            Phoebe had a nasty looking cut on her head and was unconscious. Paige sat down next to her, and putting her hand over Phoebe's head, healed both the laceration and the concussion she had.

            "You're a whitelighter too?" Jenna asked, looking slightly confused.

            "Yeah, I've had to do double duty since Leo left. They haven't had a chance to assign a new one to us yet." Paige said, helping Phoebe to sit up.

            "Did we get him?" Phoebe asked, seemingly a little shaken.

            "Yeah, honey, he's gone. Question is, who sent him?" Paige asked.


	3. A Better Destiny Part 3

            By the end of the day, Jenna had already moved into the manor, taking Gram's bedroom, which was next to the nursery.

            Piper was cooking breakfast the next morning when Jenna came downstairs.

            "All settled in?" She asked the new nanny.

            "For the most part, this house is huge!" She said, sitting down next to Wyatt and making faces at him.

            "Once you get used to it, it's not as big as it looks." Piper said, pulling muffins out of the oven.

            "Coffee, black." Phoebe bellowed, entering the room, in her pajamas.

            "Alright Madam Grumpy." Piper intoned, and poured her a cup.

            "Do I smell muffins?" Paige said, coming in, wearing jeans and a t-shirt that said 'Prom Queen' in big gold letters.

            "Give them a couple minutes to cool." Piper said, swatting her hand away.

            "What's this?" Paige asked, picking up a card from the table.

            "The business card of a nice man I met at the mausoleum yesterday." Piper said, pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting on the other side of Wyatt.

            "The mausoleum. You meet guys at mausoleums? And here I've been hitting clubs and going online. What was I thinking?" Paige said, and grabbed a muffin.

            "I took Wyatt yesterday to meet his Auntie Prue." Piper said with a serious look on her face.

            "Is he cute?" Phoebe asked, taking the card from Paige.

            Instantly Phoebe froze with the force of a premonition. She saw a man using a spell that pulled all three of them out of the foyer of the manor, and Jenna hiding in a corner with Wyatt.

            "Are you alright?" Jenna said, putting her hand on Phoebe's arm.

            Just then Phoebe collapsed on the floor, spasming violently. Now she was having a premonition within a premonition. This time it was Jenna being strangled by a demon that she didn't recognize, as Prue watched on helplessly.

            Phoebe awoke on the living room couch with Piper holding a cold washcloth against her forehead.

            "Are you alright? I've never seen you have that bad a reaction to a premonition before." Piper said, taking the cloth away.

            "It wasn't just a premonition. I had one when I touched that guy's card and another one when Jenna touched me. Piper, does the guy you met have dark hair and eyes, looks to be in his mid thirties?" Phoebe asked, sitting up.

            "Yes he does. Don't tell me he's a demon?" She said, sitting down next to Phoebe.

            "I don't know if he's a demon exactly, but I do know he uses magic to remove us from the manor and Jenna was afraid of him. Then there was the second premonition, which somehow morphed out of the first one. Jenna was being murdered by a demon, while Prue was watching." Phoebe said, her voice shaking.

            "Prue, but how is that possible? Prue's been gone nearly three years now." Paige asked, putting Wyatt in his swing.

            "I have no idea, but that's what I saw."

            "Was it the same guy who magicked us out of the house?" Piper asked.

            "No, it was a woman, red hair and dark eyes. I didn't recognize her. I'm still confused how Prue could have been there." Phoebe continued, shaking her head.

            "Well it sounds like Jenna here is our innocent in all this." Paige said, hoping to comfort the frightened looking young woman.

            "I don't know why anyone would want to kill me. Far as I know I don't have any enemies." She said, looking around in fear.

            "Don't worry; we'll get to the bottom of it. Perhaps I should start with calling this Tim character and seeing just who he really is." Piper said, picking up the card and the phone.


	4. A Better Destiny Part 4

            A short time later the three sisters were in the attic. Piper and Phoebe were over the Book of Shadows, while Paige was using the card to scry for the mysterious Tim.

            "I'm not finding anything in the book about anyone named Tim. Demons usually have more interesting names than that." Phoebe said, throwing her hands up.

            "Maybe that's his human name. Afterall, Cole was also known as Balthazor. We should look for a corresponding picture to match the guy I met." Piper informed, continuing to flip pages.

            "Got him!" Paige shouted, "he's at 3rd and Elm Street."

            "Third and Elm, that's the cemetery." Phoebe said as she and Piper wandered over.

            "He did tell me he hangs out there sometimes." Piper informed them.

            "Shouldn't that have been your first clue that something strange was up?" Paige asked, taking their hands then orbing.

            They rematerialized in the mausoleum, right in front of Tim. 

            "Ok mister, you've got some explaining to do." Piper said, throwing up her hand to freeze him.

            "I'm sorry if this has left you wondering. I knew that Phoebe would get a premonition from my card. That's why I gave it to you." He started, pointing them toward the chapel.

            "Wait a minute, why didn't you freeze?" Piper asked, looking confused.

            "Because I'm not a demon, or a mortal, I'm an upper level good guy." He said, taking a seat in an empty pew.

            "Then why the ruse, why not just tell me who you were?" Piper asked, taking a seat with her sisters in a pew behind Tim.

            "I knew they were already watching you, and I couldn't take the chance they'd figure out I was watching them." He said, sitting sideways to speak to them, and leaning over the back of the pew.

            "Who are 'they'?" Paige asked.

            "The Underworld was in chaos right after the birth of your baby. The crone put forth law that no one is to touch him. They've been building forces recently hoping to find a way around that law and it looks like they may have found a way." He said, with a serious look on his face.

            "We're listening. We've beaten the Source, I'm sure we can take on whatever they bring forth." Phoebe said, looking confident.

            "Not this, not without the power of four." Tim said, looking at each of them in turn.

            "Sheesh, since when is the power of three not good enough?" Piper asked.

            "Since the other side found the power of four! You are the Charmed Ones, they are the Cursed Ones, four sisters with the ultimate power of evil. They've been marshalling forces under their banner for months now. The Titan attack was a distraction for them to continue growing stronger. You're going to need your fourth sister in order to defeat them." He said, looking back at Prue's crypt.

            "But Prue's dead, and has been nearly three years now. Don't tell us you have the power to resurrect the dead?" Paige asked, looking a little confused.

            "No, I'm a keeper of time. My demonic counterpart is named Tempus. I know you've had run ins with him." Tim continued.

            "That does ring some bells. He was responsible for resetting time the day that Prue died." Phoebe said, being the only one here who remembered time being reset.

            "And that is when things started going wrong! As the power of three you've done a lot of good. In this instance that's not going to be powerful enough. So we have to go back in time and bring Prue back." He said, getting up, and walking back out of the chapel with them.

            "Ok, if all this is true, then how does that explain my premonition about Jenna?" Phoebe asked, when Piper staggered and went to one knee.

            "Something wrong, Piper?" Paige asked, taking her hand.

            "We have to get home right away. I just heard Jenna, screaming in my head. She and Wyatt are in trouble." She said, as Paige grabbed Phoebe's hand too and orbed all three of them out.


	5. A Better Destiny Part 5

            They orbed into the foyer of the manor, to find four young women surrounding Jenna.

            "Give us the child, witch, and we won't have to kill you." A blond said.

            Piper raised her hands and froze the four demonic women, and Jenna, but not Wyatt. Just then Tim shimmered in next to them.

            "They aren't so tough." Piper said, waving her hand to blow up the blond.

            Instead of the blond woman exploding, the front doors of the manor blew off their hinges, landing on the front steps of the house.

            "Why didn't that work?" Piper asked, as she noticed the demonic women start to move.

            They all turned on the three of them. Two had dark brown shoulder length hair, the third was blond, and the fourth a redhead.

            The redhead went after Phoebe, and they began to fight. The two dark haired girls came after Piper, and the blond started after Paige.

            Piper was able to quickly unfreeze Jenna who ran into the solarium with Wyatt, and hid in a corner. The first dark haired girl whipped out a fireball and flung it at Piper, sending her flying onto the couch, the second one approaching quickly.

            Paige and the blond were trading off punches and kicks. While Paige seemed to be wearing down, the blond didn't seem to lose one bit of energy.

            Phoebe and the redhead kept going back and forth with each other, till Phoebe was knocked into a wall and rendered unconscious.

            Just as the two dark haired girls were about to reach the couch, Piper aimed her hands down to the floor, blowing a hole in it and sending the two of them down to the basement.

            Paige orbed away from the blond, reappearing behind her. She quickly grabbed a vase, and brought it down on her head, knocking her out.

            The two sisters then raced over to help Phoebe, but arrived too late. They found the redhead standing up with a bloody athame in her hand.

            "I don't think so bitch!" Piper said, using every ounce of power she could muster, she blew the girl through the wall and into the side yard.

            Paige reached down and held her hands over Phoebe's wound. Fortunately she was still alive, and she was able to heal her.

            "What the hell just happened, and why didn't you help?" Piper said to Tim, who had watched all of it but not entered the fray.

            "Sorry girls, fist fights are not my style. But that was them, the Cursed Ones." He said, and then flung up his hands, freezing time and stopping the two dark haired girls, who had floated back up through the hole in the floor.

            "Now do you see why you need Prue back?" He asked, then produced a handkerchief and wiped some blood from the corner of Piper's mouth.

            "Alright already, don't need a house to fall on me." Paige said, brushing off dust from her jeans.

            "My only question is, how are we going to bring Prue back?" Phoebe asked, brushing herself off as well.

            "First, we have to get out of here, and find a safe place for Jenna and Wyatt." He said, walking out to the solarium.

            He unfroze Jenna, who cried out in fear, making Wyatt cry. Piper immediately went over and picked him up. "It's ok, honey, mommy's alright, we won't let those bad women get you." 

            "I've got it." Tim said, and handed Wyatt back to Jenna, to the protest of his mother. "Jenna I'm sending you back in time about twenty years or so. Their grandmother should be able to keep you safe."

            "Isn't that a bad thing, giving Gram's knowledge of the future like that?" Phoebe asked.

            "I won't give her real names. She'll just think she's watching a good witch and her baby. It shouldn't be for too long anyway. Jenna when you get back there, give her a false name for yourself and Wyatt. Tell her Tim sent you, she should remember me. We met up a few times when she was young." He said, a twinkle in his eye.

            Each of the sisters took Wyatt for a moment to hug and say goodbye.

            "Keep a good eye on my baby, Jenna. He's the best part of my life." Piper said, a tear in her eye as she handed him back to the nanny.

            "I will Piper, don't worry." Jenna said, and at Tim's nod, moved away from the three of them.

            Tim then waved his hands and said, "Tempus Omnia Revelat". Jenna quickly faded from view.

            "So what's next for us?" Paige said, and was silenced by Tim's hand going up, as he appeared to be listening to a distant sound.

            "She's safe, Penny's got her." He said, and then turned back to them. 

            "Ok, now I'm sending you back. Nearly three years ago, do you remember what happened?" He asked the group.

            "Yes, Prue and I were protecting a Dr. Griffiths from Shax. When he showed up, he blew Prue and I through the wall, and then killed the doctor." Piper said, glancing back at the demon girls to make sure they weren't moving.

            "I was in the underworld with Cole." Phoebe said, a slight look of distaste on her face.

            "I was working that day, and then went to P3 that night, with Shane." Paige said.

            "Ok, I'm going to put you back in that time frame. Now Paige, you're going to be replacing Doctor Griffiths. Phoebe, I'm returning you to the attic, where you were the first time those events played out, and Piper, just play out events as they happened." Tim said, looking at each girl in turn.

            "Are you ready?" He asked them.

            "Ready as we're going to get." Phoebe said, to the nod of each sister.

            "Here goes," he began, and waved his hands again, "Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum." He finished, and all three girls vanished.


	6. A Better Destiny Part 6

            Orbs glowed around Paige's head, then she looked around and realized she was at her desk at the Social Services office. She quickly grabbed her purse and got up.

            "Paige, where are you going? You have that meeting this afternoon with the Millers about their adoption." Her boss said, while placing the manila folder on her desk.

            "I'll be back as soon as possible I promise." She said, already on her way out the door.

            Phoebe was upstairs in the attic looking over the Book of Shadows. She grabbed her cell phone and called Piper.

            Piper and Prue were leaving the hospital. Unbeknownst to Prue, Piper had knocked out Dr. Griffiths as soon as she found him. He was safely tucked away in a broom closet and would be for several hours.

            "No, we didn't find him…..Ok, we're on our way." She said, hanging up the phone.

            "What did Phoebe say?" Prue asked, driving the jeep.

            "She said we have to come home right away, she's got a girl there who's already been attacked by Shax." Piper said, hoping Prue would believe her.

            "Call her back, and tell her we'll be there in less than ten minutes." Prue said, and hit the gas a little harder.

            A few minutes later, Paige arrived back at the manor. She quickly hugged Phoebe.

            "Have you heard from Piper?" She asked, setting her purse down on the hall table.

            "Yes, they'll be here any minute. If I'm not mistaken, Shax will attack almost as soon as they get here." Phoebe said anxiously.

            "Do you have the spell to vanquish him?" Paige asked, playing with her hair.

            "Right here, "she said, patting her pocket," I just thought of something, you don't have any powers do you?"

            "I haven't tried anything yet." Paige said, looking around and eyeing the vase she would later hit the blond demon with.

            "Vase." She said, holding out her hand, and nothing happened.

            "Don't worry sweetie, as soon as we're all here together, then your powers will return." Phoebe said, walking with her into the living room.

            "Did I ever tell you how much I hated my hair when it looked like this." Paige said.

            Five minutes after that, Piper and Prue arrived.

            "Phoebe, where are you?" Prue asked from the foyer.

            "We're right here." Phoebe said, coming out with Paige.

            Paige was dumbfounded. This was Prue! The famous Prue, the one who's memory she'd felt so often she could never live up to.

            "Hi Prue, I'm Paige." She said and extended her hand.

            As Prue grabbed it, Piper and Phoebe each touched Prue and Paige on the shoulder. A brilliant white light shone down through the chandelier over their heads, briefly bathing all four women in its light, then it was gone.

            "What the hell just happened here?" Prue asked, pulling her hand away.

            Just then, the front doors blew off their hinges, as a whirlwind entered the house.

            "Here, read this." Phoebe said and handed each of them a small piece of paper.

            Just as Shax materialized in front of them, his long hair flowing, they each said in unison.

**_"Evil wind that blows, That which forms below, No longer may you dwell: Death takes you with this spell."_**

At the final word, Shax began to dematerialize in a whirlwind that suddenly turned into a tornado of flame, destroying him.

"That was interesting. Now can you tell me what's going on here, and just who this Paige girl is?" Prue asked her sisters.

Just then, all four of them vanished from the front hall of the manor.


	7. A Better Destiny Part 7

            All four girls rematerialized back in the foyer, with Tim standing right in front of them.

            "Ok, that's it. I'm not moving from this spot till you tell me what the hell's going on around here." Prue said, her arms folded over her chest.

            "Hi Prue, I'm Tim. Come, let's all sit at the dining room table and I promise I'll explain everything." He said, ushering them into the room.

            As they all sat down, Prue couldn't help staring at the other three girls. They looked different than they had a few minutes ago. Paige's hair had gone from long and dark to short and red. Phoebe's hair had changed too, and did Piper gain weight? The house also felt a little different. There was new furniture in a few places, and other things were gone.

            "Alright Prue, here's the story. You are now almost three years into the future. What originally happened was that you died on that day, killed by Shax. We had to go back and rescue you to bring you here. You and your sisters are facing four of the worst demons you can imagine." He said, leaning over the table.

            "The four horsemen? We already dealt with them, unless you're talking about something else sent from the Source?" She asked, looking around at the other three women.

            "Actually sweetie, the Source is dead, we vanquished him." Phoebe said, touching Prue's hand.

            "Several times, and in several forms, including Cole." Paige mumbled, getting dirty looks from Phoebe and Piper.

            "The point is, there's a current crisis involving four demon sisters, the Cursed ones. They are trying to take Piper's baby, and use him for their own evil purposes. If the four of you can't work together to destroy them, they just might succeed." Tim continued.

            "That still doesn't explain who she is." Prue said, pointing across the table at Paige.

            "She's our baby sister, Prue. Our half sister, mom and her whitelighter had her when we were still young." Piper said, putting a hand on Paige's arm.

            "Why am I suddenly hearing Cher singing Half Breed in my head." Paige said, then orbed across the table.

            Prue jumped when Paige put her hand on her arm. 

            Meanwhile in the living room, a shimmer began and then Tempus appeared.

            "This is hardly fair now is it?" He said, and waved his arm, starting time again.

            The two dark haired girls floated down to stand next to him. The blond came in through the hole in the living room wall, and the red head got up from the floor to join the others.

            "It looks like we have the starts of a war on our hands ladies. I suggest we leave and regroup to come up with a better battle plan." Tempus said, and they all shimmered away.

            At that moment, Tim jumped up from the table followed by the girls. They all rushed into the living room to discover it empty.

            "Damn, I was hoping he wasn't going to get involved. He's been weak since the Source was destroyed." Tim said.

            "He, who?" Paige asked.

            "Tempus, with him involved it puts things on a much more even footing. Hopefully  he won't find out what we did with Jenna and Wyatt."

            "Who are Jenna and Wyatt?" Prue asked, looking confused.

            "Come on Prue, obviously we have a lot more explaining to do." Phoebe said, leading the way upstairs.


	8. A Better Destiny Part 8

            Soon after, in a cave in the underworld, Tempus was pacing in front of the four girls who were lined up like soldiers being drilled.

            "That was incredibly stupid going directly after them. If you want to destroy the Charmed Ones, you're going to need to have more stealth. Now that I'm in charge, you're going to do what I say and when I say to do it. Do you understand?" He said, looking each of them in the eye.

            "You've failed to destroy them before, if memory serves." The blond girl, Sarah, said.

            "I wasn't ready for how powerful they were. This time is different. They've already leveled the playing field by going back in time and bringing Prudence back with them. We'll have to destroy them by temporal means." He said, appearing to think.

            "How do you mean 'temporal means'?" The redhead, Susan, asked.

            "That is simple, my dears; we're going back to an earlier time in the Halliwell line and wiping them out." He said, looking satisfied with his plan.

            "Balthazor already tried that, and failed miserably. Melinda Warren was born with the witches help."  The longer dark haired girl, Sophia, intoned.

            "We'll be going after much easier pickings than that, my good ladies." Tempus said, and walked away with the girls in tow.

            Meanwhile, the Charmed Ones were fixing up the major damage to the house.

            "_Let the object of contention become but a dream, as I cause the scene to be unseen." Paige said, and the hole Piper blew into the floor disappeared._

            "You're pretty good at the spell thing." Prue said, walking around with Paige and helping her tidy up.

            "Yeah, well Piper and Phoebe really went out of their way to teach me. I owe them a lot and you too." Paige said, feeling a little embarrassed.

            "Me, I wasn't even around to teach you anything." Prue said, picking up pillows and putting them back on the couch.

            "You inspired me, to be a better witch, and a better sister. There were a lot of times that I asked myself what you would have said or done. That answered a lot of questions for me. You have some really huge shoes to fill you know, lady." Paige said, moving over to the hole in the living room wall.

            "_Let the object of contention become but a dream, as I cause the scene to be unseen." They both said in unison._

            Not only did the hole in the wall mend itself up, they heard the front doors come zooming back into place, and the vase Paige broke on Sarah's head came back together again.

            "Wow, did we do that?" Prue asked.

            "Now that you're the power of four, your powers are stronger than they've ever been." Tim said, looking through the book of Shadows.

            "Only together, or our individual powers as well?" Phoebe asked, standing behind him.

            "Both actually, here touch me. Who knows what you might be able to get now?" Tim said, holding out his arm to her.

            Phoebe tentatively touched his arm, and froze in place. This was the strongest premonition she'd ever had in her entire life. She wasn't just seeing a specific event. She was witnessing nearly everything he'd ever done, including his brief affair with their grandmother. Then the vision ended with a catastrophic explosion.

            "What did you see?" Piper asked, helping Phoebe up off the floor, where she'd fallen with the force of the premonition.

            "Everything, I saw his entire existence, but then it ended in a huge fireball. An explosion bigger than anything I've ever seen. I swear I feel singed from it." She said, rubbing her temples hoping to get rid of the headache brought on by the force of it.

            "That can't be good, that sounds like a temporal explosion." Tim said, looking concerned.

            "Ok, have we just walked into a Star Trek episode or something?" Paige asked, looking confused.

            "Time manipulation is a delicate thing, we've changed countless events by bringing Prue back here. The shockwaves from that will reach us soon enough. Hopefully it won't mean too many changes will be happening." As he said that, the color of the living room walls changed from an off white to a pale green.

            "Whoa! That was bizarre, I'll bet Trading Spaces would love to learn that trick." Piper said, smiling because she liked the change.

            "There's bound to be other changes, your memories should be splintering as well. You'll still have the memories of the last two and a half years, but now you'll have a spare set of memories with Prue in them." Tim continued, watching them for reactions.

            "I told you that Cole would never amount to any good, why did you marry him?" Prue suddenly said and punched Phoebe in the arm.

            "Hey, I'm not the one who dated a werewolf, and nearly became one herself." Phoebe retorted, punching her back.

            "I think my head is about to explode." Paige said, and sat down.

            "It will take some time, but eventually you'll be able to process all these things, and incorporate them into your own identity." Tim said, as each girl sat down to sort through their new memories.

            Then it happened, all four girls at once had their looks change. Phoebe's hair went from dark brown to a medium blond, and her outfit changed from low rise jeans and a t-shirt to a black skirt, matching blazer and a white blouse. Piper's hair stayed the same color but suddenly shortened six inches, now stopping at her shoulders. Her outfit changed from khaki pants and a peasant blouse to a business suit in deep navy. Prue's hair got three inches longer, and her outfit changed from jeans and a shirt to a long green dress, with heels. Paige's hair lengthened four inches, turned a deeper red, and got curly. Her outfit went from jeans and her prom queen t-shirt to black corduroy pants and a black t-shirt that said Marilyn Manson on it.

            "Ok, that was incredibly bizarre. Wow, we vanquished the Source, three times!" Prue said, getting up and running to the nearest mirror.

            "Hopefully those are all the changes we can expect." Piper said, as Leo orbed in.

            "I just got back from visiting the Elders, they said there's a major temporal change event going on. They're looking for Tim." He said and was nearly bowled over by Piper rushing into his arms.


	9. A Better Destiny Part 9

            "Piper, what's gotten into you?" Leo said, after picking both of them up off the floor.

            "Nothing honey, I just missed you, that's all." She said, straightening out her skirt, and wiping a tear from her eye.

            "Anyway, Tim, the Elders are very confused as to what's going on. They want you up there right away." Leo said, accepting the hand Piper thrust into his.

            "Alright, girls, fill Leo in on what's been going on, and I'll be back as soon as I can." He said, and shimmered away.

            Piper took a moment to look at Leo. There was something different about him as well. He looked about fifteen pounds lighter than he was the last time she saw him, and he'd let his hair grow out a bit. The overall effect was rather boyish, which to her made him more attractive.

            "So what have I missed?" He said, following them into the living room.

            "Well for starters, apparently we have evil counterparts now. They call themselves the Cursed Ones. They were here earlier trying to steal Wyatt, but Tim sent him and Jenna back in time twenty years so Gram's could protect them." Piper started, tossing her legs over the top of him.

            "Then he sent us back three years to save Prue, because we need the Power of Four to even stand a chance against them." Phoebe continued.

"We accomplished that, and now here we are, and everything's different." Paige finished.

"Who are Wyatt and Jenna?" He asked, a look of query on his face.

            "Silly, Wyatt, your and Piper's son, and Jenna's the witch you sent to be his nanny."  Paige said from the chair opposite.

            "OH MY GOD!" Piper shouted, and stood up.

            "What's wrong honey?" Phoebe said, from the chair next to Paige.

            "We don't have a son in this reality, do we?" She said, casting Leo an imploring look.

            "No, Piper, we don't have any children. In fact, I'm surprised you're being this nice to me, since we divorced last year." Leo said rather matter of factly.

            "If Wyatt's gone, then what are those girls after?" Paige asked.

            "They are out to destroy the Charmed Ones. I suspect by going back in time." This from a young man standing in the doorway to the living room.

            Piper motioned to blow him up, when a shimmering blue shield formed around him.

            She froze where she stood, staring at him. His eyes were familiar to her, his nose also. He was about twenty one years old, six foot tall, with sandy blond hair and brown eyes. He stared back at all of them for a moment, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

            "Wyatt?" Piper asked, her lip trembling.

            "Yes, mom, it's me." He said, and rushed over to embrace her.

            The rest of them were in complete and utter shock.

            After a moment of the tightest hug Piper had ever given, she released him. He looked over at Leo, "Dad, I can't believe it's you." He said, and hugged Leo just as tightly.

            "What happened, how are you here?" Piper asked, making room on the couch for him between her and Leo.

            "You never came back for me. Jenna and I stayed with Grams for a few weeks, then she sent us off to live with some other relatives. I got a note from Tim today saying to come back to the manor, and I'd find you all here." He said, letting Piper run her fingers through his hair.

            "Leo, this is our son, this is Wyatt. He's a lot bigger than I remember though." Piper said, still trying to absorb that the son she'd thought lost just a few moments ago was now sitting in front of her, all grown up.

            "This is all getting a little too weird if you ask me. I'm going upstairs to change, I hate Marilyn Manson." Paige said, rising from her chair.

            "I think we need Tim back here to explain more about all this. If I never had you, how can you be sitting here now?" Piper said, the starts of a headache at the back of her eyes.

            "I'm still your son, the one you had in the original reality, where Prue was killed. These changes didn't affect that, only my being born last year. I guess I'm a leftover from a reality that no longer exists." He said, looking thoughtful.

            "But why did Tim tell you to be here today, of all days, and how does all this change what the Cursed Ones are planning?" Leo asked, still surprised to have a grown son.

            "In the end, they want to wipe out the Charmed Ones, since I'm no longer an option, I highly suspect Tempus is going back in time to find an ancestor of ours to convert to evil." Wyatt said, and stood up. 

            "I'm kind of thirsty, anything to drink around here?" He asked, looking at his parents.

            "Go ahead and check the kitchen, if you find anything, bring us all some. It's through there." Piper said, pointing the way.

            "I remember. You know, Grams kept sending Jenna and me pictures of you guys growing up. Mom I love P3, it's a really cool place, my fiancé and I go there all the time." He said and left the room.

            "He's been to P3. Wonder how long he's been shadowing us?" Leo asked.

            "He's got a fiancé? I can't believe that, our baby is going to be getting married." Piper said, going over and hugging Phoebe, and Prue.

            Just then Paige orbed back into the living room, and Tim shimmered back as well.

            "Did Wyatt show up?" He asked first thing.

            "Yes he did." Piper said, and punched his arm, "Why didn't you tell me he was grown up, and engaged!"

            "That's all well and good, but right now I think we have bigger fish to fry. I need Wyatt to find out where Tempus and his groupies are going to strike." Tim said, grabbing the Book of Shadows.

            "Everyone to the attic, right now, we have some serious work to do." Tim said, as they all rose from their seats and headed up, Piper grabbing Wyatt on his way out with a tray of drinks, and ushering him along.


	10. A Better Destiny Part 10

            Tim put the book back on its stand as the group huddled around it. He pulled Wyatt to the front of the book.

            "Ok Wyatt, here's where you do your stuff." He said, and opened the book to a page none of the girls remember seeing, a page about the Cursed Ones.

            "I haven't done this in a long time. Hopefully it'll work." He said, and touched the book.

            Suddenly the attic disappeared and they were all standing in an unfamiliar room. The four demon women were bridesmaids at a wedding which looked to be taking place at the turn of the twentieth century. Since no one could see them, the Charmed Ones all got around and looked closely at the bride and groom. 

            "I think I know her." Prue said, peering through the veil.

"He seems strangely familiar too, but I'm not sure." Piper said, looking over the blond haired groom.

Then the vision ended, and they were all back in the attic of the manor.

Phoebe ran over to a trunk in the corner of the room, and pulled out an aged photo album. She began flipping pages and finally stopped at a particular one.

"There she is!" She exclaimed, bringing the book back so everyone could see it.

"Who is she?" Wyatt asked, still recovering from the force of the premonition.

"Laura Connors, our great grandmother." Phoebe said, looking at the photo again. 

"This was taken on her wedding day, June the fifth, nineteen hundred and ten. But that man isn't the one we saw in the premonition." Paige said, slightly confused.

"I know who he is. That's Nicholas, the demon that tried to kill us six years ago. The one who had the ring that mom put a spell on, so our powers wouldn't work on him. Tempus must have picked him to be the one to replace Laura's real groom." Piper said, looking frightened.

"If he kills her before she can give birth to Gram's, then none of us will be here anymore." Prue said, looking at her sisters, and Wyatt.

"Then we've got our work cut out for us. We need as much information about that wedding as possible, so I can put you back at that particular moment and place in time." Tim said, as the girls split up searching different parts of the attic.

Meanwhile, Tempus was going over the plan with the Cursed Ones. 

"I'm sending you back to 1910, June 4th to be exact. There you are to make contact with a demon named Nicholas. He's going to be replacing Johnathan Connors, and marry Laura Connors. On the wedding night he'll kill the witch, and then we won't have to worry about the Charmed Ones anymore." He said, and then snapped his fingers, replacing what the girls were wearing with gowns of that period.

"Do you understand the plan?" He asked, giving them a once over.

"Are you sure this Nicholas will help us?" Susan asked.

"Oh I think so, his hatred of witches goes way back, probably earlier than when I'm sending you. Here's where you can find him." He said, handing Sophia a piece of paper.

"Are you ready to go back?" He asked, to which all four girls nodded.

He then stood back and waved his arms at them while chanting, "Solum potestis prohibere ignes silvarum." Then all four girls disappeared.

They reappeared in an alleyway. They wandered out and found themselves on a busy street corner in a very large city, traffic of streetcars, automobiles and horse and buggies all around them.

"Alright, we have our orders. Let's go find this Nicholas." Sarah said, and led the way down the street.


	11. A Better Destiny Part 11

            Sometime later, Paige found Laura Conners diary. They all gathered around it, as she read aloud.

            "The first entry naming Johnathan is January twenty third, of 1910." She said, scanning the volume.

            She continued flipping pages, glancing for references to a wedding. Finally she got to the entry she'd been hoping for.

            "Here it is, June 4th, 1910. 'My Johnathan and I are to be wedded tomorrow. I cannot express my happiness at this event. After the ceremony at the court house, we are leaving New York for the greener pastures of California. I was surprised today when he introduced me to his four spinster cousins. They were all so very nice to help me with the last minute preparations for the wedding. He seems a slightly different person around them. I imagine it is just being with family that has caused this change in behavior. He insists it is nothing to worry about and we should look forward to our future together.'" She read, and then turned a few pages ahead.

            "What's happening to the book?" She said, showing the others that the words on the pages after the 5th were beginning to waver and become faint.

            "The wedding night, they are going to kill her on the wedding night. If they succeed, the shockwaves will carry forward and the five of you will cease to exist." Tim said, staring at each woman, and Wyatt in turn.

            "So they must have replaced Johnathan with Nicholas sometime on the 4th. I knew Gram's mom came from back east somewhere, but didn't know it was New York. We should get going if we're going to stop them." Prue said, looking to Tim.

            "I think we're as ready as we're likely to get. I don't need to tell you to be careful with using your powers. Exposure in any form, past or present is a bad thing." He said, and then, snapping his fingers, put all four women into clothing of the period.

            "I don't envy you what you're about to undertake. The least little change to the timeline can have huge consequences, so be careful who you interact with, alright." He continued, and then stood in front of them.

            "Solum potestis prohibere ignes silvarum." He said, as a light wind blew up and then all four women disappeared in swirls of light.

            "I hope they'll be ok." Leo said.

            "If they aren't we'll know soon enough." Tim answered.

            The Charmed Ones rematerialized on an empty street corner. 

            "Did we have an address for Laura?" Paige asked, following the other three down the street.

            "At the time she lived in an apartment in the Bronx, which direction is that?" Piper asked.

            "North, I still remember the layout of this city." Phoebe said, leading the way.

            "I didn't know you had ever been here." Paige said, wincing in pain from her high button shoes.

            "I lived here for a few years. All ancient history though." Phoebe said, ignoring the darting looks Prue was giving her.

            "Right now we just need to concentrate on stopping those demon girls and Nicholas. Everytime you think you've finally killed a demon, they come back to get you again." Piper said, leading the way, much to Prue's chagrin.

            "Boy, she got bossy while I was gone." Prue said to Phoebe, walking along beside her.

            "She had to Prue, she became the older sister." Phoebe said, keeping pace a few steps behind Piper.

            "It was hard for her in the beginning. She nearly killed me when she was turned into one of the Furies, she was so hurt and scared after you died." Paige said, finding it difficult to keep up the pace in her painful shoes.

            "We all had to make adjustments, Prue. We missed you so much, but our lives had to go on." Phoebe continued, stopping a moment to hug her oldest sister.

            Piper turned back around at them, "Why are we stopped people? Time's a wastin'." She said.

            "Well my feet hurt and really, why aren't we orbing anyway?" Paige asked.

            "Good point. Let's go." Piper said, giving Paige the address.

            The four women moved out of the way into an alley. They held hands and vanished in a swirl of lights.

            They rematerialized on a roof overlooking another alleyway. All around them was laundry drying on lines, and the nasty odor of garbage.

            "This town sure stinks." Piper said, holding her nose a moment to block out the scent.

            "Yeah well in our time it's a much cleaner place, trust me. Where are we?" Phoebe asked.

            "That must be her apartment across the alley, I just saw her go by." Prue said, peering into the darkness.

            "Any sign of the bridesmaids?" Paige asked.

            "Not yet, I think it's still early evening. Perhaps Nicholas will show up soon to take her out." Piper said, sitting down on a brick pile.

            "I wish we had binoculars." Phoebe said, straining her eyes to see the front of Laura's building.

            "Ask and ye shall receive." Paige said, spotting a pair in a Woolworth's window across the way. "Binoculars" She said as they disappeared from the window and appeared in her hands.

            "Thanks Sis." Phoebe took the pair from her. "Oooh, I see them, all five of them."

            As she watched, she saw Nicholas morph from his regular form into that of Johnathan Conners. He then went inside, while the four women sat down on the front steps of the building.

            "I wish we had four pair of binoculars, instead of just one." Prue said, straining to see into the apartment.

            "Why didn't you say so in the first place." Paige said, grabbing the one pair from Phoebe.

            _"__We have only one, but we need more, from one original, now make four." She said, and instantly she had four pair of binoculars on her arms._

            "Good one Paige, I like a witch who can make up a spell on the spur of the moment." Prue said, taking hers and handing another to Piper.

            While Prue, Piper and Phoebe watched Laura's apartment, Paige kept her eye on the four demon women parked on the stoop outside.

            "How long are we supposed to wait before they come out?" Sophia asked, hating the constraint of her dress.

            "He said give him ten minutes, then be going by when they come out; gives him time to mention our being here." Susan answered her sister.

            Sarah then made up a small fireball, and bounced it in her hand. "I'm bored, Tempus made this sound a lot more exciting than it's turning out to be."

            "Yes, well demon life isn't all killing innocents and stealing powers from others, now is it?" The other dark haired girl, Serena, said, extinguishing her fireball with a look.

            Meanwhile in the apartment, Nicholas/Johnathan was helping Laura on with her shawl.

            "Did I mention that my spinster cousins are in town right now? Would it be a great imposition to include them in the wedding? I know you were so very disappointed not to have any bridesmaids for the ceremony. I'm sure they'd love to do it." He said, opening the door for her.

            "Well Johnathan, that would be wonderful. You know I still have to pick out a veil and flowers, do you think they'd be able to help me with that?" She said, as they made their way to the elevator.

            "I think they could be persuaded." He said, and gently kissed her on the cheek.

            "There they are, at the bottom of the steps." Paige said, instantly drawing the attention of her sisters.

            "Well what a surprise. Laura, these are the cousins I was telling you about." He said, as the four women lined up.

            "This is Sophia, and Susan, and Sarah, and Serena. They are the nicest girls you'd ever want to meet. Ladies, this is my Laura." He said, and took a small step back.

            "It is such a pleasure to meet the woman who's stolen dear cousin Johnathans heart. His descriptions hardly do you justice." Serena said, shaking hands with her.

            "If you need any help with the wedding at all, you feel free to let us know." Susan said, also shaking her hand.

            "I know of a wonderful flower shop in the Village." Sophia said.

            "Nice to meet ya." Sarah said, in a bored manner.

            "Well thank you so much for the offer of assistance. The wedding is at five o'clock at the court house. I'll need help in the morning making the final arrangements if you'd like to come see me then." Laura said, beaming with happiness.

            "We have to hurry to make our reservations dear. Ladies, we'll see you tomorrow." Nicholas said, and began walking off with her.

            Once they were around the corner, the four women shimmered away from the front steps.


	12. A Better Destiny Part 12

            "Ok, so now what, do we camp out here till the wedding tomorrow evening?" Phoebe asked, once they were sure the demon women were gone.

            "There appears to be an empty apartment next to Laura's. Why don't we make camp there?" Prue said, straining against her shoes.

            "Sounds good to me." Paige said, and orbed them all into that apartment.

            The first thing each of them did was to remove her shoes. Then they settled down on the abandoned sofa left in the living room.

            "Wish we had something to eat, I'm famished." Paige said, holding her rumbling stomach.

            "Don't think about food and you won't be hungry." Piper said, noticing her own hunger pains.

            "Easy for you to say, I could sure go for a Big Mac right about now." Phoebe added, rubbing her feet.

            "Too bad there won't be a McDonald's for at least forty years!" Prue put in, as she got up to check out the rest of the apartment.

            It was a fairly small one bedroom flat. Apparently the last tenant hadn't left too long ago, as it was still fairly clean and showed no signs of neglect. When she got to the bedroom she found a rather large mirror on one wall. The rest of the walls were empty, with slightly faded flowery wallpaper on them.

            She stopped to admire herself in the mirror, when she realized her reflection was not the only one in it.

            "Tim?" She asked, to the image she found there.

            "Yes, this was the easiest way to communicate with you there. Are you all in that apartment?" He asked with a look of great concern on his face.

            "We're all here; do you need to speak to all of us?" She asked him.

            "Actually I need to pull you all back here, at least temporarily. I think there's more going on here than just your ancestor." He continued, and waved his arm, replacing his reflection with an image of swirling gray clouds within the glass.

            Prue peeked her head out the bedroom door and got everyone's attention.

            "Hey, we're being recalled. Tim says there's something else going on." She said, as the other girls got up and carried their shoes with them.

            "What is that?" Paige asked, peering at the swirling clouds in the mirror.

            "I guess that's our way home, so who goes first?" Piper asked the assembled group.

            "Age before beauty." Phoebe said, pushing Prue toward the mirror.

            "Alright, I'll go first, bunch of chickens." She said and hopped through the mirror.

            Piper and Phoebe went next, without any incident. Paige was about to step through when something shot out from across the room, shattering the mirror.

            "Hey what the hell…" Paige started when she was blasted down by a fireball flung by Sarah.

            A few seconds after Phoebe stepped through the mirror in the attic, it shattered violently. Everyone there looked on in surprise.

            "What happened?" Prue asked, looking to Tim for an answer.

            "The mirror on the other side must have been shattered. We'll have to assume that Paige has been captured." He said, standing before the Book of Shadows.

            "We have to go back and get her then." Piper said, walking over to Leo and Wyatt.

            "Right now we have a bigger problem. Phoebe do you remember the premonition you got when you touched my arm earlier?" Tim asked.

            "Yeah, a huge explosion, you said it was some kind of time explosion. Do the demon girls somehow cause this?" She asked him back.

            "No, I believe Tempus is going to do this. I had forgotten till I was going through the book that he could shut down time completely." He informed, a very serious look on his face.

            "Shut down time, how can he do that?" Prue asked, coming up to stand next to him at the book stand.

            "With this." He said, pointing to the open page of the book.

            Prue perused the entry very quickly and then began to read aloud. "The Portal of Time was discovered by the Ancient Druids in what is today Great Britain. When they realized that all time flows forth from it, they built a temple over it, to keep it away from dangerous hands, for the one who controls the portal can shut it down with a series of sacrifices, and incantations, thus stopping time and bringing an end to the Universe." 

            "You think Tempus is trying to get control of this Portal?" Piper asked.

            "Yes, I think he intended to wipe you out because you are the only ones who could stand in his way. Keep reading, Prue." Tim said, walking away from the stand and pacing the attic.

            "If the incantations are not completed, the seeker of destruction can be stopped by four witches standing at the compass points of the temple, and chanting the following spell. _He who seeks to stop times pace, Will not continue in this place, We who stand, directions four, Will not let you close the door, Evil will not cease this flow, Time will cause you now to go. No matter what you try to do, Destruction will now come to you. _A little wordy, but seems like it would do the trick." Prue continued, looking at her sisters.

            "But we need Paige to make that work, which means we still have to go back." Phoebe said, amazed at this turn of events.

            Back in 1910, Paige awoke to find all four demon girls staring down at her.

            "What should we do with her? Kill her outright, or wait till we kill her ancestor and watch her fade from existence?" Sarah asked, still bouncing a fireball.

            "How about just letting me go?" Paige timidly asked.

            "Oh I don't think so, you're a serious threat to our plan, witch." Susan added.

            Paige looked around and found herself in what appeared to be some sort of large audience chamber. She was chained down to a table, about the size of a pool table. Beneath her appeared to be some sort of pentagram. 

            "Nicholas should be home soon. As soon as he is, we'll see what he thinks about how to dispose of you." Sophia said, leafing through an old book.

            Paige decided now might be a good time to try orbing out. She concentrated, but nothing happened.

            "There is an energy field around this room. You didn't think I'd let anyone come and go without my knowledge now did you?" Nicholas said, entering the room and morphing back into himself from his Johnathan form.

            "I'm sure my sisters will be coming back for me, any minute, and then you'll be in trouble." Paige said, rattling the chains binding her to the table.

            "I highly doubt it, by now Tempus has found a way to prevent any more time traveling. By this time tomorrow, you and your sisters will no longer exist. But that doesn't mean we can't still have some fun." He said, and took down a jeweled athame from the wall.

            Just before he could slice into Paige, Sarah screamed from across the room.

            "What's wrong?" Susan asked, standing next to her.

            "I don't know I just feel very strange." She said, then vanished slowly from their midst.

            "Did you do this?" Serena asked Paige, walking toward her with murder in her eyes.

            "Uh, hello, chained to a table here, I'm hardly in any position to do anything." Paige said, confusion in her face.

            Meanwhile, Sarah reappeared lying on a stone table, unable to move. She looked around her, there were four large pillars around her in a circle. The table she was laying on was also in the center of a circle. On the table with her were candles, all lit. Just then a figure in a robe walked out from behind one of the pillars. He removed his cowl and it turned out to be none other than Tempus.

            "What's going on Tempus? I demand you release me right now! My sisters won't stand for this." She said, trying to move, but finding her voice and head the only things she had control over.

            "I'm afraid I can't, Sarah. But, for what it's worth, you and your sisters are all going to suffer the same fate. But your sacrifice will end a great deal of suffering in the universe. I need you to be quiet now, as I have to concentrate before killing you." He said, setting a large athame next to her on the table.

            She suddenly found she couldn't even control her voice any longer. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. Tempus raised his arms above his head.

            "Oh Cronus, great God of time, I beseech thee! Accept this first sacrifice to you, so that time may be made to stop, and those who burn in your name will no longer know pain.  _Duis__ aliquip dolor velit, eros praesent, accumsan feugiat illum nostrud et vel enim et consectetuer, veniam augue, duis. Ut consequat iusto lobortis dignissim ea ut dignissim qui dolor veniam iriure sed tation feugait. Dolore exerci ut hendrerit aliquip, tation autem commodo luptatum luptatum veniam odio, hendrerit euismod nisl nulla, sit lobortis, aliquam, velit consequat lobortis ipsum feugait duis consequat. Quis praesent sed consequat, delenit eros iriure, zzril ut nibh facilisi ex consectetuer dolor dolore eu blandit delenit nibh eu. Et enim in dolore eros, laoreet enim, dolore diam, adipiscing facilisis magna delenit aliquip laoreet at ut quis." With that, he stabbed her in the heart with the athame. She flamed out of existence and the Earth trembled a moment._


	13. A Better Destiny Part 13

Tim was about to send the three sisters back to 1910 to save Paige, when he was struck down with a sudden thunderous pain. They all rushed to him, and settled him on a settee nearby.                   

"Are you alright?" Prue asked, directing Piper downstairs to the bathroom to get him a glass of water.

"He's started his ritual. The altar has tasted its first victim. We don't have a lot of time to stop him now. He has four hours in which to complete the ritual." Tim said, through gritted teeth.

In 1910 the other three demon girls cried out in pain as they felt the death of their sister. Nicholas stopped his slicing up of Paige. She lay on the table, motionless, unconscious and bleeding.

"What happened?" He asked the women, once they'd recovered their senses.

"She's dead, our sister is dead. We have to find out who did this and destroy them." Susan said between gritted teeth.

"Do you think it was the Charmed Ones?" Nicholas asked, wiping Paige's blood off on a towel near the table.

"I don't know, but the sooner we destroy their ancestor the better I'll feel." Sophia said, tossing out a fireball and taking out a chair nearby.

After a few minutes, Tim had recovered enough to continue. He gathered the remaining three sisters together and conferenced with Wyatt and Leo.

"Obviously I have to send you back to get Paige, though who knows where the sisters would have taken her. That's the problem right now, the best I could do, would be to drop you back where I found you. If only we had someone who knew Nicholas, perhaps they could give us a hand with this." Tim said, looking at each of them in turn.

Back in 1910 the remaining demon women were on the prowl. They met up with Laura as promised to help her with the arrangements for the wedding. They gave the excuse that Sarah was away for the day helping their elderly mother.

"What kinds of flowers do you think, Susan? I'm fond of lilies, but roses would be so much more romantic." Laura said, smelling a bouquet from a street vendor.

"Roses are exceptionally beautiful my dear. I'm sure Johnathan would be happy with whatever you pick." Susan said seeming very agitated.

"Is something wrong ladies? You don't seem in very high spirits today. Are you hungry? Perhaps we should have lunch before picking out the veil?" Laura suggested, paying for a dozen roses.

They had gotten outside, when Sophia began to feel strange. She sat down, surrounded by her other two sisters and Laura. 

"Wait here, my doctor is just up the street, perhaps I can persuade him to come back and have a look at you Sophia." Laura said, and leaving the flowers, ran down the street. 

The sisters had just enough time to get Sophia to an alleyway next to the flower shop when she too vanished before their eyes.

In Halliwell Manor, the family had drawn a pentagram on the floor, and lit candles all around it.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Tim asked the three women.

"On the back of the photograph Grams took of us and Mom she wrote that if we needed any more information about Nicholas to contact Mom. Hopefully she knows something, unless you have any better ideas." Prue said, staring him down.

The three sisters held hands and chanted the incantation.

"_Hear these words -- hear my cry, Spirit from the Other Side. Come to me. I summon thee. Cross beyond the Great Divide_." 

In the center of the pentagram, a white form began glowing into existence. Then it coalesced into the form of their mother Patty Halliwell.

"Hello girls, it's so good to see you." She said, looking at each of them in turn.

"Hi Mom, we have problems…" Piper started.

"Big, big problems." Phoebe interrupted, rolling her eyes and raising her hands.

"It's Nicholas, mom. He has Paige back in 1910. We need to go back and get her, but have no clue where he would have taken her. Do you know?" Prue asked, after grabbing Phoebe's hands from the air and putting them back down at her sides.

"His estate on Long Island, probably. Nicholas was actually born the son of a wealthy industrialist in 1875. He made his pact with darkness around the turn of the century. That's likely where you'll find her." She said, looking at each of them, and then at the men in the room.

"Who is that? I remember Leo, and of course Tim showed up every once in a while, but I don't recognize him." Patty said, looking directly at Wyatt.

"I'm sorry mom, where are my manners. Mom, this is your grandson Wyatt." Piper said, taking his hand and leading him nearer the circle.

"A grandson, but how?" She started, eying him.

"Long story mom, real long story, in fact getting longer by the moment." Prue said, and pulled Tim closer to the circle.

"Does that information help you pick a location?" She asked him.

"Without seeing it, at least on a map I can't do much." Tim said, looking hopeless.

"Grandma, I know this will be weird, but I believe I can transfer the information if you'll trust me." Wyatt said, looking back and forth between Piper and her.

"If you're really Piper's child, then I trust you implicitly." She said, with a smile on her face.

Wyatt then stood between Patty and Tim. He closed his eyes and appeared to be concentrating hard. A small blue stream of light moved out of Patty's temple, went into Wyatt's right hand, then came out his left, and into Tim's temple. The four others in the room looked on in surprise.

"Got it, thank you Wyatt. Are you ladies ready?" Tim asked, smirking at their slack jawed expressions.

"That's our boy!" Piper said, ruffling the young mans hair.

            __


	14. A Better Destiny Part 14

            Susan and Serena vanished a moment after Sophia did, arriving back at Nicholas mansion just as he was torturing Paige for more information.

            "Sophia is gone now." Susan said to him, her anger barely contained.

            He set down the crystal he'd been holding over Paige's head, the expression of pain on her face began to slowly subside.

            "We need to step up the plan then. I'll go and bring Laura back here, and then we'll kill her. Hopefully before either of you vanish too." He said, and shimmered away.

            The two remaining women paced the room, like caged tigers.

            Meanwhile in a bedroom upstairs, a cheval mirror began to glow, and clouds appear in it. Then Prue, Piper, and Phoebe stepped through.

            "Pretty nice digs, I never cease to be amazed at how well evil pays." Phoebe said, as the image within the mirror changed back to normal.

            "Yeah, well it might pay well, but the taxes are a bitch." Prue said, cracking the bedroom door open and checking up and down the hallway.

            "All clear." She said, holding the door for the other two.

            Together they crept along the hallway, until they found the marble staircase. 

            "Do we have a game plan once we get there?" Piper asked, hiking up her skirt hoping not to trip over it.

            "Well I'm at a bit of a disadvantage having never met them before. What did you do last time?" Prue asked, taking the lead down the stairs.

            "Got our asses kicked, that's what we did." Phoebe said, wincing from the remembered pain of that atháme stabbing into her.

            "Ok, well then I guess we don't do that." Prue continued, her mind reeling to come up with something.

            They crept along the corridor, amazed not to have seen any servants, for surely a house this large had them. Having no direction to go by, they decided to be systematic in their search. 

            Just as they were about to round a corner, Prue peeked and saw Serena coming down the corridor. 

            "There's a woman coming, we have to hide." She said, pushing her sisters back against the wall.

            "How are we supposed to do that, the nearest door is twenty feet away, and she'd see us before we got there." Phoebe said, taking her sisters hands and seriously wishing they could be invisible.

            Just then a light flared at their feet, and the three women faded from view. Serena walked past them, turning in their direction for a few seconds, before continuing on up the hall and going into another door.

            Phoebe let go of her sisters and they instantly reappeared.

            "Wow, I have a power I didn't have before. Guess the power of four means we all have extra things we can do." Phoebe said, and led the way down the corridor Serena had just come up.

            Prue listened at the double doors of the room she'd just come from, and heard Susan inside, tossing off fireballs at a target Nicholas had setup.

            "There's only one at the moment, I think we can take her, ready?" Prue said, to the nod of her sisters.

            They backed away from the doors, and Prue waved her hand, blowing them off their hinges and sending them clear across the room.

            Susan took her next fireball and hurled it at the three invading women. Piper waved her hands and froze her and the fireball in place.

            They then ran over to Paige, who was bleeding and in obvious pain. 

            "We need something to get these chains off her." Piper said, pulling on the nearest chain.

            As she did, it began to feel cold. A further tug and it froze entirely. She banged it on the table and the metal shattered.

            "Oooh, you have another cool power too I see." Phoebe said, handing Piper the other chain.

            "Yeah, who knew being a frigid bitch would come in handy for something." Piper said, and shattered the other chain.

            They no more than pulled Paige off the table when a fireball came whizzing in from the open doorway, missing Prue by a few inches.

            Susan unfroze at that moment, and the two women started hurling fireballs at them from two angles.

            "Why did you kill our sisters?" Serena asked, as she let loose another one.

            "We had nothing to do with it, it's Tempus. He betrayed you, and killed them to close some time portal which will destroy everything." Prue said, pushing the fireballs out of the way as they flew past.

            Just then both demon women collapsed on the floor in intense pain.

            "That's our cue." Piper said, and froze them again. Then she and Phoebe carried Paige out the door and up the hallway.

            "Where was Nicholas?" Prue asked, stopping at the doorway.

            "What are you waiting for Prue, they won't stay frozen for long." Piper said, putting Paige down in a chair.

            "I'm curious about something." Prue said, and held up her hands, concentrating very hard.

            As she did, the doors she'd blown off their hinges came flying back across the room and reattached themselves to the frame. She then took Piper's hand in hers.

            "Think about sealing the doors." She said, holding up one hand, which Piper emulated.

            To Phoebe's astonishment, the doors seemed to melt at their edges, effectively sealing up the room.

            "Very good job, I must say." She said, and turned when she heard Paige stir.

            "I wish Leo was here." Paige said, opening her eyes.

            "Yeah well, too bad he won't even be born for about ten years yet." Piper said, helping her to her feet.

            They got back up to the bedroom they'd come into the house from when Paige started talking. 

            "Laura, he's going to bring Laura back here to kill her." She said, before they set her down on the bed.

            The sisters stared at each other, as they then heard a tremendous explosion that could only mean the doors they'd sealed had been blown out of that room.


	15. A Better Destiny Part 15

            The girls stared at one another in fear, what were they going to do? Phoebe had them all hold hands, and she concentrated on being invisible again, but nothing happened.

            "I hate getting new powers, it takes too long to get used to them." She said, letting go of their hands.

            "Well we have a few minutes anyway, it'll take them that long to figure out which room we're in." Prue said, checking the doors, one was a bathroom, and the others were closets.

            Paige began to moan and stir on the bed. 

            "Oh, Piper, get me some water." Phoebe said, helping Paige sit up on the bed.

            A few seconds later, she came back with the glass, which Phoebe promptly put to Paige's lips. "Here, honey, drink this. Do you think you can orb?" 

            "She needs a whitelighter, but we don't have access to one right now." Prue said, listening at the door for sounds of the demonic sisters drawing closer.

            "Yeah, well she's half whitelighter, it sucks they can't heal themselves." Piper said, and then got a look like she'd thought of something. "Prue, any chance you remember that spell, the one to transfer powers? If one of us could swap powers with her long enough, we could heal her."

            "I might remember it, you listen at the door and I'll be right back." Prue said and went into the bathroom.

            "Why is it she was always better at remembering things in the bathroom?" Phoebe asked, laying Paige back down on the bed.

            "I have no idea, but I hope she remembers it quick, or we're in trouble. I think they're on this floor." Piper said, walking away from the door and back over to the bed.

            "I've got it!" Prue said, coming out of the bathroom, and crossed to the desk opposite the bed, and used the pencil there to quickly scribble something down, "Which one of us will switch with her?" 

            "I'll do it, since I remember the exact trigger to make it work." Piper said, as Phoebe got up and stood next to Prue, so she could have the seat.

            Prue handed her the piece of paper, and stood back with Phoebe.

"Here goes_. What's mine is yours, what's yours is mine, let our powers cross the line, I offer up this gift to share, switch our powers through the air." She intoned, as they watched balls of light flow out of each sister and into the other one._

"Did it work?" Phoebe asked.

Piper then placed her hand over a cut on Paige's arm, a golden light emanated from her hand and healed the wound.

"I'd say so, hurry it up Piper. They are liable to be here any second." Prue said, keeping her ear at the door.

It took her a couple minutes, but she healed all the cuts that Nicholas had put on her. She was rewarded with Paige opening her eyes and sitting up in the bed.

"What happened?" Paige asked, putting a hand to her head.

"You were a mess, that's what happened." Piper said, helping her up off the bed.

"We have to stop Nicholas before he kills Laura." Paige said, and threw up her hands, accidently exploding a painting on the wall.

"Oops, how did that happen?" She asked, looking confused.

"You and I swapped powers temporarily, which I need to give back to you." Piper said, grabbing her hand and preparing to recite the spell again.

            "I don't think we have time." Prue shouted, as the bedroom door began to shake.

            "I remember how to do this, get over here and we'll get the hell out of here." Piper said, and took Phoebe's hand with her other one, Phoebe reaching over and taking Prue's.

            They orbed out of the room just as the bedroom door exploded inward.

            A few seconds later they found themselves on the roof of the mansion, they quickly checked over the side to see if they could see Nicholas and their great grandmother coming up the driveway.

            "Ok, do you want your power back?" Piper said, looking at Paige.

            "Please, yours is a little too destructive for my taste." She said, standing next to her.

            Piper repeated the spell and their powers returned to each of them. 

            "We might as well camp out here till he comes back, in the meantime we can figure out what to do." Prue said, looking away from the drive.

            Downstairs, the remaining demon women were ransacking the house hoping to find the Charmed Ones. Serena stopped Susan in the upstairs hallway and listened intently.

            "What do you hear?" Susan asked, her anger evident on her face.

            "They're on the roof." She said, and they both shimmered out.

            "How long ago did he leave?" Prue asked Paige.

            "Like I have a concept of time when I'm being sliced up like a thanksgiving turkey, a few hours maybe." She replied.

            "Wait, did you hear that?" Piper said, looking around them.

            "I didn't hear anything." Phoebe responded, then spotted the demon sisters coming around a corner.

            "Duck!" She shouted, then they all hit the floor just missing a fireball that left a scorch mark on the chimney behind them.

            They quickly recovered, and Prue threw up her hand, knocking both women back into a door. The evil sisters then began shooting fireballs from their hands, like cannons. Prue was able to deflect most of them, while Piper froze the remaining ones in place. 

            "We can't hold them off much longer." Piper said, continuing to freeze the fireballs that Prue was missing, one of them only a few inches from Paige's head.

            Then the two demon women stopped their attack abruptly, the frozen fireballs disappearing. They had pained looks on their faces. After a few seconds, they both disappeared from sight.

            "What happened to them?" Paige asked.

            "Tempus got them, which means we don't have long before he completes his ritual." Piper said, looking back over the side of the house.

            She then saw it, an old model car coming up the driveway. She motioned the others over as well. The man driving it though didn't look like Nicholas at all.

            "That's them, we better get downstairs and give him a welcome home he'll never forget." Prue said, leading them away from the edge and over to a door in the roof.


	16. A Better Destiny Part 16

The women went back to the room that Paige had been held in. The double doors to it had been blown outward, the knobs embedded into the opposite wall.  
"I think we need to clean this up, and then search that room." Prue said, ushering the other three inside.  
"Let the object of contention become but a dream, as I cause the scene to be unseen." She said, and stood back as the doors pulled themselves from the opposite wall and reattached themselves to the doorframe.  
"Do you hear that?" Phoebe said, motioning the others to stop making noise.  
"I do hear something." Piper said, looking around, "I think it's coming from that door in the corner."  
She and Paige walked over and opened the door. Out fell the real Johnathan Conners, tied up and gagged. They helped him to a nearby chair and ungagged him.  
"Thank you so much! I don't know what happened. One minute I'm leaving the jewelers with the ring for my fiancé, and the next thing I know, I'm tied up in that closet." He said, trying to loosen his wrists.  
Piper flung up her hands, freezing him.  
"Do we remember if he knows that Laura's a witch?" She asked the group.  
"The pages I flipped through in her diary gave no mention of it, so your guess is as good as mine." Paige said.  
"Let's not take the chance. Help me put him back in that closet. With this power boost of mine he should stay frozen awhile." Piper said, and with Paige's help, put him back in the closet they'd found him in.  
They then heard mumbling from the other side of the door, so they all hid as best they could.  
"Sophia had to leave also, seems some other emergency came up, however Serena and Susan are still here." Nicholas/Johnathan said, escorting Laura inside.  
Paige then came up with a quick idea, she morphed into Susan and stepped out from the bathroom she'd been hiding in.  
"It's so good to see you Johnathan." She said, sauntering over to join the two of them.  
"Where is Serena dear?" He asked through clenched teeth.  
"She wasn't feeling well and decided to lie down. How are you doing, Laura?" She asked, hoping her voice sounded right.  
"I'm fine thank you. We only have a couple hours before the ceremony, and I wanted to make sure you had something nice to wear." She said, looking about the room.  
"I was going to wear this I think, don't you think it's appropriate?" Paige/Susan asked, twirling for them.  
She twirled a bit too far and knocked over a plant stand. She tried to catch the plant, but it escaped her hand and landed on Laura's dress instead.  
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry Laura. There's a bathroom down the hall if you'd like to take care of that." She said, looking truly apologetic.  
"I remember noticing it on the way in here. I'll be right back." She said and excused herself.  
"What the hell are you doing?" Nicholas asked, morphing back into his own form.  
"Why trying to stop you of course, you demonic weasel." Paige said, morphing back into her own form as well.  
He raised his hand to strike at her, when Piper froze him.  
"Ok, now what do we do with him?" Prue asked.  
"I have an idea. You guys have all had a power boost from this power of four thing. I haven't figured out mine yet, but I have an idea. First, Piper, unfreeze his head so he'll know we're the ones who foiled his plan." Paige said, standing her ground next to him.  
"As long as you know what you're doing." Piper said, and unfroze his head.  
"What the hell are you doing, witches?" He asked, realizing his body was still frozen.  
"We're not just witches, we're the Charmed Ones pal, and you're about to go on the ride of your life." Paige said, and stood back a few feet.  
"Nicholas" She said, holding out her hand like she was calling him to her, instead of holding her hand out flat which she usually did to receive something by orbing, she flailed her fingers.  
He cried out as his body disintegrated into glowing orbs of light. Instead of reappearing, he stayed in that form, and floated away from the room, through the ceiling.  
"What did you do to him?" Phoebe asked, pulling her eyes away from above.  
"I sort of put him in suspended animation. Not sure how long it'll last, but it should keep him out of our hair long enough for the wedding to take place." Paige said, looking satisfied with her plan.  
"And why tell him it was us who did this to him?" Prue asked.  
"Well you guys said he went after mom to get immunity from the Charmed Ones. My guess is that at some point he gets unstuck and decides that's the best way to defeat us. Obviously he fails. I'm just making sure that future history occurs as it should." Paige continued.  
"Meanwhile what about Johnathan?" Phoebe asked, opening that closet door. 


	17. A Better Destiny Part 17

            The ceremony was over in less than forty five minutes. Afterward Laura hugged each of her great granddaughters. As she hugged Phoebe, the girl got a premonition, but it was a happy one. 

            As Prue was hugging her great grandmother, she looked down and noticed her arm starting to look the way it normally did. She made a face at the other girls, and they quickly left the room.

            They had just made it to the ladies room when the glamour's wore off.

            "Thank goodness for that, well our timeline is restored." Piper said, splashing cold water onto her face.

            "Yeah, but we still need to save the world's timeline." Paige said, checking her makeup.

            Just then, a full length mirror near the door changed to a reflection of clouds.

            "I think that's our ride home." Prue said, walking over to the mirror.

            "We don't have much time girls." Tim's voice said, through the glass.

            "We're ready to come back." Phoebe said, and was the first to walk through the glass.

            They all stepped through to find Tim, Leo, and Wyatt waiting for them. As soon as they were all through, Tim waved his hand at them and their outfits changed back to what they were wearing before.

            "I don't know how women could stand wearing corsets. Five more minutes I was going to need an asthma inhaler." Paige said.

            "We're really running out of time here. He killed another of the demon women about forty five minutes ago. We need to get you there to stop him before he kills his final victim. Once that's done I don't know that anything can stop the process. Hopefully Leo, Wyatt, and I can distract him while you four get into your positions. Are we all ready?" Tim asked, to nods from each of them.

            They all stood in a circle holding hands. Tim looked up at the ceiling and chanted, "_Recedite__, plebes! Gero rem imperialem**."**Instantly a strange wind began to blow from nowhere, enveloping them all. Then they were surrounded by white globes. They all closed their eyes._

            And reopened them to find themselves surrounded by a ring of rocks, about twenty feet high. 

            "Where are we?" Paige asked, smelling the fresh air.

            "To be precise, we are in England. This site never got touristy like Stonehenge, partly because magic kept it hidden. He should be on the other side of those rocks." Tim said, indicating behind Prue.

            "I'll go have a look, hang on." Prue said, just before her head drooped, which meant she was astral projecting.

            On the other side of the rocks she saw Serena chained down to the altar, but Tempus was nowhere to be seen. She took in the layout, noticing the stone columns Tim had talked about. They looked as though they had hollows in each of their bases, just enough space for each of them to stand in.

            As she looked around, she saw a hooded figure rise up next to the altar. She returned to her body and told them all what she'd seen.

            "Alright, Leo, Wyatt and I will find a way to distract him. Hopefully before he can kill Serena, while you four get into your positions. Do you remember the spell I taught you to read off?" He asked, looking anxiously at all of them.

            "I think I remember it." Prue said.

            "Good, once Prue starts it, it'll come to all of you. It's written that way. Are we ready?" Tim asked everyone.

            "Yes, we are." Wyatt said, winking at his parents.

            Wyatt held his mothers hand, Leo took Prue's, and Paige held Phoebe's as they all orbed from their position to the other side of the rock ring.


	18. Part 18 Final Chapter

            Wyatt and Leo materialized on the other side of the altar from Tempus, the four girls in the small clearing between the stone pillars.

            "We can't let you do this Tempus." Leo said, reaching over to take the knife.

            "You can't stop me." He replied, and with a flick of his wrist, froze Leo in place.

            At that moment he looked up and saw the four girls trying to decide which pillar to stand in front of. He flicked his wrist again and they froze as well.

            Just then, Tim shimmered in behind Leo and with a flick of his wrist unfroze all of them.

            "You can't do this Tempus. You'll destroy everything, and you know it." Tim said, countering all of Tempus freezes, causing Leo and the girls to freeze and unfreeze.

            "I am tired of being the demon of Time. The Source used me like a puppet whenever he needed anything, which included killing that witch over there." He said, indicating Prue.

            Wyatt was the only one unaffected by the freezing and unfreezing of those around him. While it was going on he started to untie Serena from the table. What neither Wyatt nor Tim noticed was that Tempus pulled an athame from a pocket in his robe.

            With a flick of the wrist, he threw the weapon which imbedded itself in Tim's stomach, causing him to collapse to the ground. Tempus then used power he didn't know he had to fling Wyatt to a far corner of the clearing.

            "Cronos, great deity of time, accept this, my final sacrifice to you, and close the portal of time. Great oblivion will be mine." He said, and shoved the knife into Serena's heart.

            With her death, the circle below the table began to glow, and spin, creating a vortex of black clouds that began to rise up from the hole.

            The Charmed Ones instantly unfroze and took their positions at the four stone pillars. Wyatt rose from where he'd landed and raced to the hole, which had sucked up the altar itself.

            Tempus moved to stop him from doing anything, when Tim threw the knife he'd pulled from his stomach. The knife thudded into Tempus leg, causing him to stagger back a few steps, then fall.

            "Recite the spell, it's our only hope." Tim shouted, before collapsing in pain.

            "_He who seeks to stop times pace, Will not continue in this place, We who stand, directions four, Will not let you close the door, Evil will not cease this flow, Time will cause you now to go. No matter what you try to do, Destruction will now come to you." All four girls recited the spell in unison._

            "It's not working." Piper said, horrified that the hole was expanding, the black tendril clouds climbing higher from it.

            Wyatt looked up from where he'd pulled Tim away from the hole. He looked back at the girls, an unreadable expression on his face.

            "Keep reciting the spell. I'll try to hold the portal from expanding." He said, and levitated himself over the dark abyss. 

            Piper watched him carefully, still reciting the spell with her sisters. He floated there, and then seemed to shed off swirls of light, which the abyss absorbed. Whatever he was doing it seemed to be doing the trick. The great black void wasn't expanding any further, and the black tendril clouds were in fact sinking back into it.

            As the four women recited the spell one last time, the hole contracted violently, sucking in not only Tempus but Wyatt as well. 

            "Not my baby!" Piper screamed, running over to the spot, collapsing, and beating the now solid ground with her hands.

            Leo came over and pulled her up from the Earth, holding her tight while she sobbed out her pain.

            Meanwhile, Paige went over and healed Tim's stomach wound. The three sisters stood around Piper and Leo, tears escaping their eyes as well. They then moved in for a family hug.

            Tim put his arms around the group, and they vanished from the monument, reappearing in the attic of the manor.

            Several hours later, Leo was still consoling Piper, who didn't want to get up from her bed. Prue, Paige and Phoebe were sitting in the living room trying to make sense of all of it. 

            Tim shimmered in behind the couch, "Well everything's been restored. The site has been hidden again by fresh magic. No one will be able to find it for centuries at least. "He said, noticing their long faces.

            "Girls, what Wyatt did he did of his own free will. No one asked him to sacrifice himself, but it was that sacrifice that saved us all."  He went on.

            "We know, but it doesn't make it any less painful. In the new timeline Piper doesn't even have a child. This whole thing is killing her, and I don't know that I can stand to watch it." Prue said, rising from the couch and heading up the stairs. 

            Tim followed behind her, and pulled her aside at the top of the stairs for a brief conversation.

            Meanwhile the front doorbell rang. Phoebe got up off the couch and went to answer it. Standing on the porch was a woman in her mid forties, who looked vaguely familiar to her.

            "Can I help you?" She asked the mysterious woman.

            "Yes, Phoebe you can. I'm Jenny, do you remember me?" She asked, taking off her sunglasses.

            "Oh my God, Jenny. Boy do you look different." Paige said, after coming up behind Phoebe in the foyer.

            "Yes, well the last twenty years have been interesting I'll admit that. Is Wyatt here?" She asked, as the girls stood aside to let her in.

            "I'm afraid he was lost when we tried to stop Tempus." Paige said, hating to be the one to break the news to her.

            Jenny was visibly shaken by the news. The girls brought her into the living room and sat her down in a chair. Paige ran off to the kitchen, coming back with a glass of water for her.

            "How are Piper and Leo? They must be devastated." Jenny said, taking the water from Paige.

            "They've been upstairs since we got back. Prue just went up to see how they were doing." Phoebe said, looking to Paige for something else to say.

            "He gave me a note, just like Leo did when he told me to come here all those years ago. He insisted you all needed to read it." Jenny said, pulling an envelope from her bag.

            "I'll see if Piper and Leo will come down." Paige said, and ran upstairs to get them.

            "How difficult has it been for you living in the past like that?" Phoebe asked.

            Jenny stood up and began to pace around the living room, "The hardest part for me was not changing events even though I knew what was going to happen. I simply created a life for myself, as far away from the one I had as possible. I did visit myself in high school once. In fact I gave myself a ride to school. The funny part was that as I was living it, I was remembering it also from the perspective of my younger self." She finished just as Prue, Piper, Leo, Paige and Tim came around the corner from the stairs.

            "Piper, I'm so sorry for your loss." Jenny said, crossing the room to hug her.

            "Wyatt gave me this before he left. I think it's for you." She said, handing the grieving mother the envelope.

            With tears in her already swollen eyes, she took the envelope and opened it. A gold shimmery light emanated from it and formed in an empty corner of the living room into Wyatt.

            "Mom, if you're seeing this, then something has happened and I'm no longer with you. I want you to remember that I always knew my life would come to something like this. When the crone touched me all those years ago, I not only showed her a vision of the future, she shared a vision with me also. Even though we didn't have much time together, I want you to remember that I love you with all my heart." He said, looking directly at her.

            "To the rest of you, I want you all to know that the incredible good you've done all these years, and the sacrifices you've made have not been in vain. You have made the world a safer place for us all. My only regret is that I only have my one life to give for that." He continued.

            "Jenny, you have been an incredible surrogate mom to me all these years. I can't imagine how I would have turned out without your loving guidance. Someday we will all be reunited. Blessed be." He finished, and disappeared.

            Piper buried her face in Leo's shoulder, the sobs so wracking her small frame she could barely stand up.

            "Why did this have to happen? I wish Tempus were still around, so I could kill him again for taking my only child away from me." She screamed to no one in particular.

            "Piper I love you. Everything will be alright. We're all here for you." Leo said, holding her tightly and rocking back and forth.

            Phoebe looked over and saw Prue sliding away from the group, with Tim in tow. The look on Prue's face told her all she needed to know. She winked at her older sister and turned to Piper to rub her back.

            Prue took one long last look at all of them, and shimmered away with Tim. A moment later, Paige looked around the room.

            "Where's Prue?" She asked.

            Piper finally looked way from Leo's chest, where she'd dampened his shirt with tears, her eyes circling the room, "And Tim?" She asked.

            Just then it hit, the same kind of shockwave that hit them before. The manor only changed in subtle ways, the rooms returned to their previous colors. Each of them changed also, back to the appearance they'd had before. Jenny and Leo disappeared entirely. The girls looked around and realized the timeline had been restored to what it had been before.

            Barely having time to take that in, Tim shimmered back into the room with Jenny and Wyatt.

            "My baby!" Piper yelled, and took him from Jenny, crying.

            "What the hell happened?" Paige asked, looking confused.

            "I think I know." Phoebe answered, "Prue went back didn't she? She sacrificed herself so this timeline could be restored."

            "Yes she did. She knew losing her son was killing Piper. She also knew she was the reason that Wyatt wasn't born in that other timeline, so she agreed to go back and be killed by Shax, so this version of reality could continue." Tim said, a sad look in his eye.

            "What about Tempus, the Cursed Ones, did all that happen?" Paige asked, still looking confused.

            "Tempus is definitely gone, the Portal of Time destroyed him completely. Although I suspect the Underworld will simply create a new demon of Time. Can't have things uneven for long." Tim explained.

            "As for the Cursed Ones, they are still out there, but they are down a sister as well, so there's a level playing field." Tim continued, smiling at all of them.

            "Now I have to go, things to do, that sort of thing. Leo and the other Elders will want a full report of what went on here. Take care of each other." He said, and shimmered out.

            A few days later, when Piper found herself again in the mausoleum, staring at the stone that simply read "Prue Halliwell 1970-2001" she couldn't help but smile.  Both Prue and Wyatt had proven they were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, so what she'd given up, losing Prue, and then Leo, didn't seem quite so hard to bear anymore.

            Putting Wyatt back into his stroller, they left the cemetery together. 


End file.
